Bayer Named In AIDS Suit

AP

Published: March 18, 1987

LEVERKUSEN, West Germany, March 17—
Bayer A.G., the giant West German chemical company, said today that it had been sued over its sale of hemophilia drugs that may have been infected with the AIDS virus.

The news sent Bayer's shares tumbling by 12.50 marks, or about $6.90, to 292.50 marks, or $162.50, on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and pulled the whole market lower.

A Bayer statement said fewer than 20 patients who have been treated with the Factor VIII hemophilia drug have filed liability claims against the company charging that the substance was contaminated with the AIDS virus.

Factor VIII, which is essential for the treatment of hemophiliacs, is made from human blood plasma. The drug is produced by Miles Laboratories Inc., an Elkhart, Ind., subsidiary of Bayer, a Bayer spokesman said.

The liability claims, which were filed both in the United States and Western Europe, are still in a pre-court phase, said the spokesman, who requested anonymity.

He added that the drugs infected with the AIDS virus could have been produced by other pharmaceutical companies and not Bayer. But the Bayer statement did not deny that its product might have been contaminated in the past.

Since early 1985, Bayer has been screening all donated blood plasma for the AIDS virus, the company statement said, and the drug is now believed to be AIDS-free.